Have you ever had an experience when the Spirit spoke to you so intensely that the words undeniably branded on your soul? You could never deny them?
14 years ago, the Spirit branded my soul.
With an intense heat, the Spirit told me,
You have a story to tell.
A story? What story?
I did not have a story. Okay, I did not have a story worth telling. Nothing in my life was exceptional or out of the ordinary.
What story was I supposed to tell?
Shortly afterwards, I got sick. An infection that quickly spread through my body and organs, immune to antibiotics. As time went forward, so did the infection. If we couldn’t find a solution… soon, the outcome would not be good.
But my doctor found a solution. My life spared.
This clearly had to be my story, right?
Why did I feel like I couldn’t talk about it then?
Time again moved forward, only this time instead of an infection, my husband and I discovered our infertility. We could not have our own biological children.
Was this my story?
Again, I tried, but knew this wasn’t the right story to tell.
I guess there was still more story to come. And come it did…
- Failed Adoptions.
- The birth and adoption of our oldest son!
- Being contacted by his birth-mother with the opportunity to adopt again; only the timing was bad and there were high chances of medical problems for the baby.
- The birth and adoption of our second son!
- Extreme health problems and several near-death experiences of our second son.
- PTSD from those times leading to debilitating panic disorder and other Mental Health Conditions for me in the aftermath.
- The development of many special needs and disabilities in both of our children.
- The development of chronic life-changing health problems.
Each time I was sure, I finally had my story. I began sharing my experiences, but as time went on, I knew something wasn’t right. None of these were the right story to share.
This past year, as my family’s latest story progressed, a severe new medical condition for my oldest son, I continued to feel the burn of the spirit telling me I had a story to share.
In a moment of weakness, I prayed… complained… to my Heavenly Father, asking how many more experiences I needed to go through to find my story. Hasn’t it been enough?
The Spirit once again blessing me with words that branded my soul.
It isn’t your story you’re telling.
Wait? Not my story? Whose story am I supposed to be telling then?
His.
As I began looking back over these 14 years, these stories, I realized there was a deep connection between every one of them.
Him.
Jesus Christ.
The reason I made it from one story to the next; able to tell the story.
The reason my family is where we are today.
The reason, notwithstanding all the challenges, our life is full of love and joy.
So, today I have a story I need to tell.
The story of my Jesus.
The best part about this story… He isn’t only my Jesus. He is yours too.
So, when I talk about how He is ever-present in my life, always providing love and support. Or how no matter where I am or what story I am living, He is there too. When I promise that there is a peace and joy that He provides me, even in the darkest of my days. I am not only talking about my life, but about your life, too.
I am excited to tell His story.
There is a lot to tell and will take me a while to share it all. Especially since each day He keeps adding more good things to the story.
It will all come down to one thing. He’s there.
Have you noticed Him there? What can you tell me about the story of our Jesus?
